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Bringing and keeping your body and mind in a relaxed state throughout the day is by far the best thing you can do preserve your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Perhaps the best way to realize the benefits of relaxation is to look at what happens to us when we are in a stressed state.

The first thing to realize is that living in stress means living in survival. People often find this difficult to understand; “what do you mean survival? I don’t see myself in a situation that I could die from whatever threat. I may be busy, and things may be a bit hectic, but that’s okay, things will settle soon.”

That may be true, but the point is that your body and mind have a different view on that. Even though we live in a modern world, our brains haven’t changed more than ten percent over the past fifty thousand years, and our DNA hasn’t changed at all over the past two hundred thousand years. In other words, whether we like it or not, our bodies and minds still behave like they did thousands of years ago when confronted with a threat.

We still react in the same way…

In those days, threats and danger came from enemies, predators, famine and similar very basic survival situations. Because we haven’t changed much since those days, our brains nowadays still perceive threats in the same manner, and it really doesn’t matter that in today’s society those threats have transformed into problems related to work, relationships, money, family, health, sexuality or purpose in life.

The funny thing is also that it doesn’t make a difference whether the threat is real or imagined. Simply close your eyes, think of a scary event and feel the terror creep upon you.

The direct effect of stress on body and mind is that blood is shunted away from the gut section to arms and legs for running or fighting and to the brain for fast thinking. All other body functions that don’t play a crucial role in dealing with the threat are temporarily put on hold. Think of processes such as digestion, assimilation, healing, and recovery.

Forget about clear and rational thinking too. Stress creates tunnel vision. We don’t oversee all our options but tend to choose from a limited number of options that in most cases are not the smartest.

Think of this; we worry about our health, relationships, career, finances or the meaning of life and the tools we get from our brains to work with these conditions are the survival tools feeding, fighting, fleeing or freezing.

Sounds like someone handing you a hammer when you need an electric screwdriver.

Clearly, the survival tools we still use to deal with today’s challenges are hopelessly outdated.

The really worrisome thing is that our brain forces us to use those tools whenever we feel stress come up.

It happens all the time, and we can see it everywhere; many people who feel challenged react with excessive eating, aggression, avoiding difficult situations or simply feel helpless and don’t know what to do.

What to to do?

How then to avoid becoming the victim of our own survival tools that tend to turn our lives into a mess?

The short answer is: by bringing and keeping yourself in a state of relaxation throughout the day.

When you are in a relaxed state, stress can’t exist, and you automatically avoid the outdated survival actions feeding, fighting, fleeing and freezing from getting in your way.

More goodness; all your body systems will run smoothly, and you will be able to think clearly and make the wise decisions that will help you to create the life you want to live.

There are many ways to reduce or eliminate stress.

Simplicity is the key-word.

Among the many things you can do, here are two very effective actions you can take that will create enormous clarity in your life and will cost you nothing.

First, take a look at your agenda and see what you can reorganize, combine, delegate or stop doing. Decide what the “big rocks” are in your life, give them a place in your agenda and work around those rocks with smaller items.

Be sure that there is harmony between your interests and the interests of others. Realize that if you don’t take care of yourself, stress will be just around the corner with all ensuing consequences, one of which is that you can’t be of much help to others. Know that your happiness is their happiness.

Next, clean up your environment and then get rid of things you don’t use. Focus on one room in your house at the time and check for items you don’t use or wear anymore and probably never will. Realize that all the things you have, in some way take up space in your house and your mind and complicate your life. Sell, give or throw away what you don’t need and keep what really matters.

These actions may sound simple, but don’t underestimate the positive effects on your physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Things get even better when you notice that the clarity and relaxation you’ll see emerge in your life as result of these simple actions form a wonderful foundation for new possibilities and experiences.

In my talks and conversations, I share insights, tools, and techniques that help people to get in the best possible situation to create the life they want. If you want to explore how you and the audience you represent can benefit from what I offer, just leave your message on this page, and we take it from there.